1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to mortuary display platforms and coffins in general. The present invention is particularly directed towards fully enclosed viewing platforms having glass or plastic transparent domes and self-contained refrigeration units designed for short term preservation of the deceased. The top platform section of the present invention also serves as a coffin and can be removed and fitted with a burial cover.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
A search was conducted to produce refrigerated coffins or caskets in the classes and sub-classes 27/1, 11, and 27. Patents deemed most pertinent to my invention included the following:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 3,257,820, was granted on June 28, 1966 to Case et al, for a cold storage container for cadavers. Case's container is designed primarily for shipping or transportation only and is not designed to serve as the burial coffin. Using this device as a burial coffin would prove cost prohibitive since the refrigeration system is contained inside the same housing as the cadaver and would be interned with the deceased. No provision is made in the design for viewing through a transparent cover.
2. On Nov. 5, 1968, Pauliukonis was issued U.S. Pat. No. 3,408,711, which discloses a cryoembalming casket. This device is also designed for cold storage of the cadaver over extended periods of time. The casket itself is separate from the refrigeration unit and contains no controlling means in the casket for reducing temperature. The refrigeration unit consists of a large cylinder which would again prove too expensive as well as too large to serve as the burial container. No means of viewing the deceased has been provided.
3. The Bernard patent, issued Apr. 1, 1969, U.S. Pat. No. 3,435,494, shows a coffin designed to replace oxygen inside the coffin with neutral gas, which reduces or prevents decomposition. No refrigeration means is provided nor is their a viewing area.
4. Weber was issued U.S. Pat. No. 155,818, on Oct. 13, 1874 for "Corpse-Coolers". This device utilizes ice for the cooling means which is ineffective in very hot conditions, requiring the addition of extra ice at certain intervals. Provisions must also be made for the water produced from the melting ice. The viewing area is also limited to the facial area.
5. U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,841, was granted to Guillaume et al., on Apr. 29, 1986, for an artificial hibernator and process for cold preservation of a human being. This device is not designed to be buried in the conventional manner but serves as a long term storage facility for the deceased.
For the health of the funeral workers and to promote or maintain an aesthetic appearance of the cadaver, undertakers have long practiced methods to prevent decomposition of the body. This practice is widely used and generally achieved by embalming. The increasing use of cremation as an alternative to the conventional burial system generally eliminates the use of embalming, however some form of preserving the body prior to cremation is still required. The use of refrigeration systems to preserve the deceased has been a convenient and effective method of preservation, but provides little or no means for allowing viewing of the body. These refrigeration units are also not designed as the burial containers and would either be cost prohibitive or too large to serve as such.
My invention effectively overcomes the previously mentioned disadvantages of the prior art by providing a viewing platform and burial unit along with a detachable refrigeration base unit. Odor and disease control is accomplished through refrigeration, closed air circulation, and a display platform which serves as a burial coffin without being opened. The novel and useful features of the present invention are not found in past art devices described in the issued patents or anticipated in the specifications and illustrations.